student name Professor X College Writing 112 28 March 2019 Research Proposal – Dying to Fit In: Social Media, Self-Harm, and Suicidal Ideation Among American Teens Since Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter’s emergence in the new millennium, the acts of watching and being watched have become second nature to multiple generations of Americans. With the tap of a finger, social media participants can upload photos and videos of their everyday lives, ranging from the mundane to the most intimate. While these platforms offer a limitless space of connection between people separated by miles, time zones, and other variables, these acts of constant voyeurism aren’t without their costs. Fifteen years after Facebook’s birth, researchers have amassed abundant evidence that constant connection can be dangerous as much if not more than it is positive: social media can have significant negative effects on its users, individually and collectively, and the most vulnerable are those aged 21 and younger. In my paper, I intend to explore the relationship between social media representation of the self and others and its consequence on teen’s self-image and self-concept. More specifically, my paper will discuss the links between social media use and acts of self-harm and suicidal ideation among American teens aged 13-19. Since I was born in the digital age, social media has been as much a part of my everyday life as brushing my teeth; since I signed on to Instagram at age 13, I’ve virtually never known a day without it. However, after witnessing multiple friends in high school experience social media bullying and its after-effects, I became curious about how many people have these experiences and how they respond to them. This opens up broader questions of whether or not social media platforms really are positive parts of our lives, and if not, what we can do to lessen their negative effects. After preliminary research and my personal experiences, I predict that my suspicion that social media increases the likelihood of self-harm and suicidal thoughts among teens will be well-supported. I have collected multiple formal studies and other sources that share statistics about the rise in these behaviors over the last decade. I plan to use these sources, including specific stories about teens who developed mental health disorders in connection with social media use, to create a thorough discussion of my topic. At its conclusion, I hope that my paper will be successful in providing a quality overview of social media and its ill-effects on teens, including my own suggestions about how we can make these platforms better and less harmful. I hope that readers of my paper will be inspired to think more carefully about their social media use, particularly in terms of how they can interact with kindness and compassion. [Word Count: 431] Lamott, Anne. Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life. Anchor Books, 1995. Lamott's book offers honest advice on th.

1. student name
Professor X
College Writing 112
28 March 2019
Research Proposal – Dying to Fit In: Social Media, Self-Harm,
and Suicidal Ideation Among American Teens
Since Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter’s emergence in the
new millennium, the acts of watching and being watched have
become second nature to multiple generations of Americans.
With the tap of a finger, social media participants can upload
photos and videos of their everyday lives, ranging from the
mundane to the most intimate. While these platforms offer a
limitless space of connection between people separated by
miles, time zones, and other variables, these acts of constant
voyeurism aren’t without their costs. Fifteen years after
Facebook’s birth, researchers have amassed abundant evidence
that constant connection can be dangerous as much if not more
than it is positive: social media can have significant negative
effects on its users, individually and collectively, and the most
vulnerable are those aged 21 and younger.
In my paper, I intend to explore the relationship between social
media representation of the self and others and its consequence
on teen’s self-image and self-concept. More specifically, my
paper will discuss the links between social media use and acts
of self-harm and suicidal ideation among American teens aged
13-19. Since I was born in the digital age, social media has
been as much a part of my everyday life as brushing my teeth;
since I signed on to Instagram at age 13, I’ve virtually never
known a day without it. However, after witnessing multiple

2. friends in high school experience social media bullying and its
after-effects, I became curious about how many people have
these experiences and how they respond to them. This opens up
broader questions of whether or not social media platforms
really are positive parts of our lives, and if not, what we can do
to lessen their negative effects.
After preliminary research and my personal experiences, I
predict that my suspicion that social media increases the
likelihood of self-harm and suicidal thoughts among teens will
be well-supported. I have collected multiple formal studies and
other sources that share statistics about the rise in these
behaviors over the last decade. I plan to use these sources,
including specific stories about teens who developed mental
health disorders in connection with social media use, to create a
thorough discussion of my topic. At its conclusion, I hope that
my paper will be successful in providing a quality overview of
social media and its ill-effects on teens, including my own
suggestions about how we can make these platforms better and
less harmful. I hope that readers of my paper will be inspired to
think more carefully about their social media use, particularly
in terms of how they can interact with kindness and compassion.
[Word Count: 431]
Lamott, Anne. Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and
Life. Anchor Books, 1995.
Lamott's book offers honest advice on the nature of a writing
life, complete with its insecurities and failures. Taking a
humorous approach to the realities of being a writer, the
chapters in Lamott's book are wry and anecdotal and offer

3. advice on everything from plot development to jealousy,
from perfectionism to struggling with one's own internal
critic.
In the process, Lamott includes writing exercises designed to
be both productive and fun. Lamott offers sane advice for
those struggling with the anxieties of writing, but her main
project seems to be offering the reader a reality check
regarding writing, publishing, and struggling with one's own
imperfect humanity in the process. Rather than a practical
handbook to producing and/or publishing, this text is
indispensable because of its honest perspective, its down-to-
earth humor, and its encouraging approach.
Chapters in this text could easily be included in the
curriculum for a writing class. Several of the chapters in Part
1 address the writing process and would serve to generate
discussion on students' own drafting and revising processes.
Some of the writing exercises would also be appropriate for
generating classroom writing exercises. Students should find

4. Lamott's style both engaging and enjoyable.
MLA Formatted Citation
SUMMARY
“What does the
source say?”
ASSESSMENT
“What does the
source do?”
REFLECTION
“Why is this
particular source
relevant to your
project/paper?”